Page 78 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

76  POR TLAND

Exploring Washington Park Japanese Garden
611 SW Kingston Dr. Tel (503) 223-1321.
Hiking on a forest trail beneath a canopy of old-growth pine @ 63, 83. Open Apr–Sep: noon–7pm
trees or coming upon a meadow filled with wildflowers, Mon, 10am–7pm Tue–Sun; Oct–Mar:
noon–4pm Mon, 10am–4pm Tue–Sun.
visitors may find it hard to believe that Washington Park is Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, Dec 25.
surrounded by the city. Wild as the hilly terrain is in places, & 8 check website for details. =
however, the park also contains some of the city’s best- ∑ japanesegarden.com
tended gardens and the always busy zoo, as well as large This lovely, manicured land-
expanses of manicured lawn. Scenic roadways, an extensive scape, spread across hilly terrain
trail system, and even a miniature railway make it easy to next to the International Rose
explore the park and enjoy its diverse experiences. Test Garden, is said to be one
of the most authentic Japanese
gardens outside of Japan and
June, in time for the annual is certainly one of the most
Portland Rose Festival (see p34). tranquil spots in Portland. Within
In the All-American Rose the garden, designed by noted
Test Garden, new varieties of Japanese landscape architect
roses are carefully observed Takuma Tono, meticulously
for two years, as a panel tended plantings surround
of judges evaluates them ponds, streams, and pavilions.
for color, form, fragrance, Paths wind through five
and other criteria. distinct landscapes: the Flat
The evaluations are Garden, a typical urban
then combined with garden design; the Tea
those of judges at Garden, built around a
23 other test gardens ceremonial teahouse;
around the country the Strolling Pond Garden,
to determine the where zigzagging bridges
best roses. The City of cross carp-filled pools
Portland also chooses and iris beds; the Natural
its own favorites; these Garden, where shrubs,
Roses in full bloom in the International annual winners are ferns, and mosses
Rose Test Garden on display in the grow in their natural
Gold Medal Garden. state alongside ponds,
International Rose Only at the streams, and waterfalls;
Test Garden Shakespeare Garden and the Sand and Stone
400 SW Kingston Dr. Tel (503) 823- do roses not take center Gardens, in which raked
3636. Open 7:30am–9pm daily. stage – this pleasant gravel simulates the
7 = bower is planted with sea and plantings depict
A magnificent treat for all those flowers mentioned in a sake cup and gourd
who love flowers, this garden the bard’s plays. to wish the visitor
is the oldest continuously The Rose Society Stone pagoda in the happiness. The wood,
operated rose test garden in the also maintains Japanese Garden tile-roofed entrance
US. It can trace its beginnings gardens in Peninsula gate can be reached
to a summer day in 1888, when Park, in north Portland, and by a short uphill climb on a
Georgiana Pittock, wife of in the neighborhood of woodland path or via a shuttle
pioneer publisher Henry Pittock Ladd’s Addition (see p78), bus departing every 25 minutes
(see p72), invited her friends to in southeast Portland. from the parking lot below.
display their prize roses in a tent
on the lawn of her mansion.
The enthusiasts formed the
Portland Rose Society in 1888,
planted roses along city streets,
and dubbed Portland the “City
of Roses.” In 1917, the society
established the rose garden
in Washington Park, on a
terraced hillside commanding
memorable views of the city
and Mount Hood. Today, the
garden’s 8,000 bushes and
525 species come into bloom
in a spectacle of color every The authentic and tranquil Japanese Garden, designed by Takuma Tono
For hotels and restaurants see p286 and pp294–6

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